South East: Coffin Mew 'star performer' for growth

Rapidly growing legal services firm Coffin Mew has climbed a whopping 25 places in The Lawyer UK 200 (The Independents) 2018 and been revealed as the best-performing law firm for growth in the South East.

The Lawyer UK 200 celebrates the top law firms in the UK. This year Coffin Mew ranked at 161, up from 186 in 2017. Following its highly successful merger with Thames Valley firm Charles Lucas & Marshall in 2017, it has grown by an impressive 31%.

What’s more, Portsmouth–headquartered Coffin Mew was recently shortlisted as a finalist at the Law Society Excellence Awards 2018 for ‘Law Firm of the Year (medium)’. 

One of the region’s most committed employers with over 230 staff and partners, Coffin Mew has increased its workforce by 46% since the merger and has an excellent track record for diversity. Its gender pay statistics show that half of the senior roles are held by women, the management board is 44% female and three out of four functional directors are women. The firm also has excellent socioeconomic diversity figures – 77% of its staff were educated in the state sector. 

Coffin Mew CEO Miles Brown commented: “In 2018 we turned over £14m and are confident of achieving our target of £20m by 2020, as we seek to make further business acquisitions next year. We are ambitious and entrepreneurial, but also incredibly focussed on delivering an outstanding client service.

“Recent high-calibre partner hires in our corporate, real estate and private client teams have deepened and broadened our expertise, whilst our trainee programme means that we have the privilege of developing the region’s hottest legal talent. Our focus on diversity and agility drives a strong work/life balance culture and truly accessible client servicing. I am extremely proud to be at the helm of such a successful firm.”

As a champion for development and investment in the south, real estate is one of Coffin Mew’s four key sectors along with technology, care and protection and agricultural and rural business. Real estate has greatly contributed to the firm’s recent success, comprising 49% of its services.

Coffin Mew chairman and head of commercial property, Nick Leavey, added: “Our work in real estate continues to position us as a genuine heavyweight in the sector and it is fantastic to see this reflected in our performance in The Lawyer’s UK 200 ranking.”